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Arsene Wenger is set to give #8million Croatian Eduardo Da Silva a baptism of fire tomor row by plunging the striker into the crucible of Ewood Park.

Wenger has warned his Arsenal side they cannot provocation to the physical approach expected from Mark Hughes' side.

And with Wenger missing Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Eboue, he is set to hand Eduardo, 24, a debut up front as the Gunners seek to make their statement of title intent.

Wenger said: "Ewood Park would be a good place for me to learn about Eduardo and for him to learn about the Premier League. He's a strong physical player and brave. I have no fears for him there."

While Wenger is reluctant to criticise Rovers' style - and said Cesc Fabregas had apologised for his spat with Hughes after last season's FA Cup draw at the Emirates - he conceded that it would be a test of his side's resolve.

"Blackburn are a team in the mould of their manager," said Wenger. "That's where the manager is a big influence."

And Kolo Toure backed Arsenal's new Captain Marvel to lead the club into a new era of success.

Wenger produced a major surprise when he chose William Gallas to become the club's new skipper ahead of last season's stand-in Gilberto Silva.

But defender Toure believes Gallas is "strong" enough to follow Thierry Henry in wearing the armband.

The 30-year-old France defender was an unexpected choice because he has a reputation as a troublemaker and has launched several outspoken attacks on Arsenal.

But Toure said: "William is a really experienced player. He is 30, plays for France and went to the World Cup and played in the final. He is leading the team very well and we hope he will keep going for a long time.

"He gave us a team talk before the (Sparta Prague) game and he said we had to be really clever and strong physically. William talks a lot on the pitch and we concentrated, which was i mportant."

WHY THEY HATE EACH OTHER

Wenger was furious at an elbow by Rovers defender Andy Todd on Gunners striker Robin van Persie in 2005 FA Cup final. And the Arsenal chief was irked that Hughes (left) petulantly knocked the ball out of Wenger's hand as he waited to hand it back for a throw in during a match at Highbury in November 2005.

Rovers boss believes his rival at the Emirates has moaned about Rovers' tactics in last season's FA Cup tie purely because "he lost the game".